The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

“From what I heard, the Class F students are attending classes seriously these days.”

“For real?”

“Ah. I heard about that too. I also heard that no one approaches Class F these days because it’s a scary experience.”

“What’s going on?”

The students of Shakuntala Academy’s middle school division spent most of their time taking lessons in their own classrooms. Of course, even though they were all competing against one another, there was no reason for them to stop getting along with their peers.

Simply put, the cafeteria had become a place where the students engaged in small talk and exchanged information with each other.

Due to that reason, news of the incident that had happened in this very same cafeteria had spread far and wide among the middle school students of Shakuntala Academy. It was precisely because of that incident that the Class F students had become a hot topic of conversation.

There were even rumors about ghosts in Class F’s classroom that were circulating fast and wide in the academy.

“Come to think of it… None of the students of Class F have come to the cafeteria since that incident, right?”

“I’m also a bit reluctant to approach their classroom. I heard rumors that there are strange and unknown screams ringing through the gaps of the doors of Class F’s classroom.”

“S… Scream?”

Suddenly, a strange sense of tension hung in the entire cafeteria as the students gathered together to discuss the rumors in more detail.

“Me too, I heard that too. I actually heard someone scratching the doors and sobbing, asking someone to kill them.”

The rumors had been exaggerated after being spread from one person to another. They had now become a completely bizarre story.

“Let’s be honest here. Don’t you think the temporary instructor assigned to Class F is a bit strange and mysterious?”

“You’re right. I heard that he displayed the symbol of a Swordmaster during the incident back then. But who would become a Swordmaster at our age?”

“I know, right? The Pallan Empire’s teenage princess, the one being hailed as the genius of the sword, is still at the Expert level.”

“Maybe that instructor… Maybe that instructor is doing something inexplicable to the students? For example…”

The students thought that there was a chance of the temporary instructor using the Class F students as subjects in an experiment. The implication of those words made the students tremble with disgusted and fearful faces.

“Eyy. No matter how scary it is, do you think that is even a possibility? All of the students here are sons and daughters of nobles or aristocrats.”

“I know, right? But even if that’s not the case, it’s obvious that a strange aura is escaping from the Class F classroom these days. In fact, when I passed by at night, I heard a ghost crying inside their classroom.”

“What the hell… That’s scary.”

Feeling creeped out by the rumored ghost stories, the students began to leave and scatter. The remaining students, who were from Class B and Class C, looked at one another before starting to dare one another.

“Shall we try going to Class F’s classroom?”

“Ah… Nope. The Magic Festival is just right around the corner. Everyone’s too busy to care about such rumors. If I were you, I would just leave them be and practice some more.”

“Well, at the very least, Class F would be in last place, no? Josiah Frances might have dropped to Class F, but she’s alone. She would have no chance against a large group of people.”

“If Josiah Frances remains in Class F, she would have no chance of winning in the first place.”

The giggling students were completely unaware of what the Class F students, who everyone ignored and belittled, were doing right now.

***

To be honest, the lessons that Davey taught his class had been nothing more than ways for his students to improve their direct use of mana. The students of Class F understandably had a lot of questions about what kind of theory they would learn in class.

“Instructor, what theory will we tackle in class?”

“Are you telling me that you still don’t know what kind of person I, your instructor, am at this point?”

“Uhmm. That… Are we going to do a group spar again today?”

“Who came in last?”

A little boy who sat in the corner flinched as he raised his trembling hand. Then, he immediately buried his reddened face in his arms.

“We can do a group spar again, but if we do that too much… You guys might start to think of it as a good thing. Then, the other students might think that all of you are perverted,” Davey teased.

The students shook and trembled, shutting themselves up.

“I feel wonderful when I am getting hit.”

“Ugh…”

“It feels refreshing to get hit.”

“Stop…”

“I’m getting hit but my body is feeling lighter and lighter. That’s what you guys are probably thinking right now. Damn masochists.”

“No! We’re not perverts…!”

The students were aware that such thoughts were not right. They were also confident of not being masochists. However, it was true that they could not forget the feeling of those particular hits.

In the end, the students who secretly hoped for a group spar could only bow their heads down in shame. Among them was a very unexpected student, too.

Davey sighed and made a comment. “Josiah Frances, it seems like you have quite the unique preference.”

“If you don’t shut your mouth right now, I will throw a Fire Breath in that…”

“Oh, my.”

Although the students could only grit their teeth and stay silent, they realized one important fact. Hard work and labor had never betrayed them.

On top of that, the students had stopped complaining about the lessons. This was after they had realized that the strange and weird hardships that they had gone through only brought about positive changes in their bodies.

“Our goal here is simple. You have to keep in mind that it would be impossible to increase your circles in the short amount of time that we have left,” Davey said, knowing for a fact that his students were completely different from him. Then, he continued, “However, even if you remain as 2nd and 3rd Circle mages, I will make it so that you can have the ability to apply and use a different level of magic compared to the others of the same rank.”

Ultimately, it would be up to the students if they could do it or not. However, Davey was confident that he would be able to open up a path for them.

“First of all, this is the official announcement regarding the Magic Festival. The Magic Festival will proceed in the same format as last year. However, the academy has sent me a slightly unusual official announcement.”

Everyone had to participate in the Magic Festival. If a single student was missing, the entire class would automatically be disqualified from the competition.

“There should be no problem. Everyone will participate this time.”

“Ah, by the way… What is this?” Davey squinted as he continued to read the official announcement. “For those who win the first place, their reward would be…”

The first place reward was set to be an interview with Great Sage Hellison Valestia. Davey could not help but find it funny that meeting a single person could become the best reward. However, he also did not deny the fact that meeting this particular person was a great reward in its own way.

“The class that gets first place will have the chance to have a private meeting with Great Sage Hellison Valestia in the mage tower.”

“Goodness!”

“The… The Great Sage!”

For aspiring mages, the existence of the Great Sage was a very meaningful one. The fact that they could meet and have a conversation with him would be a great honor. To be honest, anyone would be grateful and delighted just to be able to see him from afar.

However, for Davey, an existence who far surpassed the Great Sage as a mage, the reward could be seen as ridiculous.

Regardless, a promise was a promise. Davey had no intention of mentioning the fact of his own abilities surpassing the Great Sage’s. Such a fact would just make the students grow restless, and that would not be very helpful in their education at all.

—You have already become a teacher at this point.

‘They have to study very hard,’ Davey answered Perserque calmly.

—Study?

‘Why do you think I’m working so hard to teach these students?’

The reason was because these students were Davey’s first disciples. It was also true that he wanted to bully and harrass these dreamers who were full of desire for magic. However, Davey had no intention of doing charity work. He had come in exchange to see the system, the atmosphere, and the class system of Shakuntala Academy, the dream school of all of the mages in the world.

—Don’t tell me, you…

‘I will build a grand and majestic academy as soon as I return to the Heins Territory. I have to seek out teacher candidates slowly, but that is my next step. Magic, swordsmanship, medicine, holy magic, alchemy, archery… Well, I want the academy to teach anything and everything.’

Davey wanted to provide an opportunity for the citizens of Heins Territory who believed and trusted in him, even though he never really managed the territory by himself, to learn and study. It was also to provide an educational avenue for those who were talented but lacked the money to join an academy.

However, his greatest reason and motivation was to make Myuu’s wish to study come true.

Davey was someone who would do whatever he could with his own hands. In his previous life, he had lost out on many opportunities due to illness. In this life and world, he saw life as one that was filled with new challenges. So, if given the chance, he would do anything and everything that he could.

Anyone who tried to build a school just for one person would be called crazy. However, Davey would willingly become the lunatic who did just that.

—Isn’t this more of a source of amusement for you, Davey?

‘Well, that’s also not wrong.’

—Ha… What would the people of this world think once they know that you’re living your life so carefree and nonchalant?

‘Who knows?’

After hearing that they would have a chance to have a private meeting with the Great Sage, the students looked at Davey with sparkling eyes.

“Instructor. If we listen to your lessons properly… Can we win?”

When a student asked a very obvious question, Davey lightly tossed the chalk up in the air before catching it again. He said, “When you’re on the brink of death, things would naturally follow.”

This was the bitter truth that applied to this life. However, the students did not have to worry that much. Davey would make sure that their classes were of lower difficulty than the lessons that he had undergone.

“We don’t have much time. When you think that you’re on the brink of death, follow along.”

***

Davey’s fifteen-day contract with Shakuntala Academy went by in a flash. It was now a day before the Magic Festival.

To teach his students formulae, Davey made them undergo a more intense lesson.

The students were initially very calm and relaxed, believing that they could do anything after having endured the crazy classes from before. However, their bubbles eventually burst. They ended up struggling and wanting to escape from the lesson. Still, the students could see the obvious improvement in their skills.

There would be no smoke without any fire. The rumors that surrounded Class F were not entirely false.

During the course of their lesson, Davey pushed his students to their limits.

Every time they went beyond their limits, the students saw their skills and power growing far beyond what they previously had.

“Hoho. There certainly are plenty of rumors.

However, I have been in some kind of trouble after you assaulted a Class A student from middle school and even threatened a teacher.”

“What happened?”

“Well, there was no need for me to come forward. Duke Golia, Yulis, and Class 6 Bram, the elder who was hostile to you, were the ones that worked hard to sort out the situation. Hohoho. It’s a very spectacular sight to see the flustered Duke Golia shout furiously.”

Duke Golia, the head of the Golia Duchy, was a fairly quick-witted noble. There was no way that such a figure would not be able to calculate the benefits and losses that would be incurred if he dared touch Davey’s existence. The man was not only a very stubborn and arrogant mage, but he was also a politician through and through.

Well, it was to be expected. The world was filled with unfair and unjust transactions and dealings.

“By the way, what lessons did you conduct for so many rumors to circulate in the school? I have never heard about such a loud magic lesson before.”

“It’s nothing much. Checkmate. It seems like you’re not concentrating enough. Ah, what about the thing that I asked for?”

Great Sage Hellison Valestia, who was staring at the Olde gameboard, fell silent. During the first part of the game, he had still managed to push Davey back a bit. In the end, however, he still played into Davey's hand.

“I already felt this when we first met but… Are you really a human?”

“I’m a human.”

“This is amazing. How can a human use such a rough and unrefined tactic? How many steps ahead are you?”

“It’s because you only see what you need to see. More than that, why did you do that? The reward for winning first place in Shakuntala Academy’s Magic Festival is too stingy.”

Hellison Valestia burst out in laughter. “Hohoho. You’re the only one who would call that reward stingy. This might sound like I’m bragging, but for these mages, I’m the person who they want to meet the most.”

“It seems like you’re quite good at making jokes, old man.”

“Fufufu. The tower decided it on their own. It’s not within my power… Take this,” Hellison Valestia smiled as he quietly pulled out a box that had been hidden behind him and held it out.

The box contained a stone that was emitting a subtle light.

“This is a sealing stone that is more than 50 years old, just as you’ve asked. I can only give you one first.”

“Thank you. To be honest, I think this is too much of a compensation for teaching the kids for a mere fifteen days.”

“Does it look like that? Well, you’re right. It’s too much compensation for just fifteen days. This stone is worth more than any other expensive magic stones.”

This was a magic stone, not an ordinary mana stone. On top of that, it was a magic stone that had been nurtured and refined for a very long time. It was something that even the people from the mage tower would have a hard time obtaining. In other words, its value would never be ordinary.

“So, what else do you want?”

“No. I’ve already received enough payment from you,” Hellison Valestia said, tidying up the Olde game board. “And it’s not just me. Some of those who attended the mage tower’s conference had realized the things that they have overlooked from the formulas that you had inadvertently thrown their way.”

As a mage, Davey was aware that there were many psychos among them who would sacrifice their hearts just to improve their magic skills. Was there anything that they would not do for the human who had given them enlightenment in such a situation?

“And think of the rest as some sort of investment. From this old man’s point of view, you seem to be a great man. It is worth maintaining a close relationship with you for the future.”

Davey accepted the box without any hesitation.

“But, if I’m being honest, I want to know where you would use this sealing stone that has been refined for a very long time. No matter how I think about it, I don’t think this sealing stone’s efficiency would be enough for any practical use.”

Davey said with a laugh, “Great Sage, you should know that the sealing stone can trap some kind of power. What would you do if there was this poor and pitiful dying person who has been driven out of her home and has been forgotten by everyone?”

Hellison Valestia’s expression turned stiff. He murmured, “Has been forgotten by everyone… That’s quite a terrible thing to imagine, no?”

“I know, right? Oh my. It’s already time. In my contract, today is the last class that I have to conduct. Let’s have another chat next time.”

The rules that made up this world’s providence had completely erased the existence of the Warrior Reina. Now, except for Davey and the World Tree, no one was aware of Reina’s existence. This would not change in this reality.

Reina, the Warrior whose race had become a mix of human, demon, and artificial angel, had completely disappeared. Even if Davey forced her soul into a human body of his creation, it would still crumple and break the moment he put the soul inside. If that was the case, then there was only one way left.

Leaving the Great Sage’s small hut, Davey used Warp and immediately went to his private underground library in the Heins Territory. It was just like any other big, dark, and dreary lab. Within this space was a huge test tube, the one that had previously kept Rinne in the ancient ruins. However, Davey had made some improvements on the test tube to be able to use it.

If Davey could not afford to bring Reina back right away, then he would have no other choice but to bring the test tube out and use it. He initially struggled to use it, but thanks to Rinne’s power of construction and deconstruction, he was able to devise a simple method to use it in the end.

Perhaps it was because Davey had been distracted with the lessons with his students while making this, but the figure inside the test tube ended up having a slightly different face from Illyna. The face still looked familiar though.

Yes, the naked figure floating inside the test tube had the exact same features as Reina.

However, the most surprising part here was the large wings that grew out of her shoulder blades. Davey did not make something like that. After all, he did not have the penchant for fairy tales and childish stories. The change just suddenly occurred after alchemy and God’s power had combined together.

—That’s no different than an angel, right?

‘Those nasty wings were created by Goddess Freyja’s will. I did not make that at all.’

There was a chance that Goddess Freyja had intended to have a servant who would be able to use more of her power and had just used Davey to achieve this goal. She had used Davey by having him save Reina.

Reina had now become an existence that was different from the apostles of God. She was like an angel but was not really one. She had turned into someone who was made by a human, being given a new lease of life by having a body that could exist in this world.

Reina’s body was artificial, having been created by materials that were readily available to Davey. Originally, this project could never be considered successful. However, Davey would be able to consider this a success as long as he could stabilize her soul with the sealing stone.

For the first time, a divine revelation appeared through the stigmata on Davey’s back.

[God’s Will has made a declaration. She would be bestowed the name of Valkyrie and would be hailed as [The One that Protects].]

The body was already half-way done, so the only thing left would be the union between Reina’s soul and artificial body. Now, what Davey needed was a vessel that could contain the power that would allow Reina to escape the rules of this world, which was hell-bent on erasing her existence. It was the only salvation for someone who had lost her home and reality.

—In what sense is this different from creating a human body?

“There’s a huge difference between medical arts and taboo. This is not resurrecting the dead, this is saving the dying.”

—Isn’t that just a play on words?

“If you put it like that, then you’re saying that it’s taboo for a human with a severed arm to wear prosthetics.”

In Reina’s case, she had only lost her body because of lousy, misplaced rules and providence.

Eva, Davey’s alchemy teacher, had warned him to never create a human body. However, she had also mentioned something else regarding the matter.

[Davey, there is a huge difference between taboo, medical arts, and alchemy. It is an alchemist’s job to dig through the gaps and explore the real truth. I’m not going to demand that you follow some sort of moral code or even ethics. You can do whatever you want as long as it’s not something that you can be ashamed of.

However, if something goes wrong, make sure to use your power to take care of it. It will be your own responsibility. If that time ever comes, remember that an alchemist should never shun the truth. You shall never forget to take responsibility over your actions.]

The sealing stone that contained the power of the Abyss was not yet complete. However, it had already gained the power to reject the providence and could release a power that was similar to the stone that the Great Sage had given Davey.

—By the way, what are you going to do with the other sealing stone?

Davey only needed one sealing stone to resolve the issue with Reina. However, he had asked for at least two sealing stones.

Davey smiled at Perserque’s question and said, “I’m going to use this to slap someone in the back of the head later.”

—I don’t know who they are, but there’s one thing that I’m sure of… Whoever you’re going to hit in the back of the head must already be tingling right at that spot.

The smile on Davey’s face slowly disappeared as he continued to look at the test tube.